Life Changing Moments

In everyone’s lives, there are these moments when something clicks. You suddenly figure out how to stay balanced on a bicycle. You discover a new passion. You make your morning toast a different way than usual, and it tastes like pure heaven. After disliking coffee for years, one day it starts to be a craving.

We learn and grow, or we stay stagnant and die. It’s these life changing moments, little and big, that shape us to be what we are supposed to be in life. We might not notice all the triggers that get us to where we are today, but if you think about it closely, you might be able to pinpoint some moments when you’ve felt empowered, wiser, confident in yourself, bursts of childlike joy.

I was 21, walking down 6th avenue in the New York summer heat, the sun blocking my view. I felt light, happy and free. I had an uncontrollable burst of joy I had not felt in years. I could not explain the cause of it at the time, but I think it was the feeling of utter freedom, endless possibilities, and gratitude towards where I was. After that point, I knew I needed to experience more of the world.

Catching a candid moment in Krakow, Poland

I chose I wanted to go to Japan when I was in university. Until then, I had been too scared to go that far from home alone, although I had had practice by living few months in New York. Granted, I had the university network to take care of me when my toe got infected, I got friends from school, etc., but it was a baby step towards the big step, the first leap I took to the unknown. I left with no other plan than to do yoga in Bali, but I ended up coming back home 1.5 years later.

Ghost at Rome night, @snapzak

I learned that plans don’t always work, they’re merely a suggestion or a guideline, at best.

The life-changing moment for me came when I realized that I can do this. I wanted a change of scenery, and so I built a life in the place I most wanted to be in. I lived life the way I wanted to live it. I share my Australian experience over at Project Inspo.

The most Australian hut of them all

Another life changing moment came for me when I realized that I was in love. It was a completely new feeling for me, f*cking up all the plans and ideas I had made for myself; all of a sudden I cared about spending excessive amounts of time with someone else. This made me re-evaluate myself as a person, and what all these crazy feelings meant to me. What I learned from the experience was: relationships need constant work.

Life changes when your perspective on things changes. It might be a shift in your daily habits, diet, activity level, work - every little thing counts. This is especially important to remember when you're feeling bad about something you did or didn’t do; it’s not the end of the world, give yourself some slack, pick yourself up and do better next time. Don’t let yourself get derailed and spiraling down because of one setback.

Beautiful spirals

Arriving in Canada to do a Baptiste Power yoga teacher training was another life changing moment for me; although I doubted myself during the first few days, the encouragement from others and the feeling of accomplishment I got was enough to reassure me that I was right where I was supposed to be.